Cartographic Design by Michael Hermann

I currently work full time for the University of Maine as the Senior Cartographer with the Canadian-American Center. I've been immersed in digital map and information design for about 15 years, prior to that I worked in bicycle retail and manufacturing, most notably with Grove Innovations. The list of successful design collaborations is too long to pick favorites. As a designer, I work with architects, environmental firms, and universities creating maps, information graphics and signage and wayfinding systems. I consult with law firms to create courtroom graphics specific to jury explanations. I selectively accept custom map design work as side projects. If you are looking for custom cartography design and production please drop me a line. If I'm too busy to work with you I can put you in touch with other independent cartographers who would be a good match for your project. For my full resume/CV design history, click here.

Professionally, I'm involved with several national and regional organizations.

I serve as President of the North American Cartographic Information Society (NACIS), and on the Editorial Board of Cartographic Perspectives, the peer-reviewed journal of NACIS.

I serve as President of the Osher Map Library Associates Board of Directors, at the University of Southern Maine in Portland.

I serve on the boards of the University of Maine Campus Planning Committee and the University of Maine Campus Arboretum and Beautification Committee in Orono, Maine.

The Office

Current projects

Historical Atlas of Maine: a ten-year project that is due for publication in 2008-09, the atlas features 95 plates illustrating the historical, cultural, economic, and physical geography of Maine and its position in the Maritimes. This body of work represents the research of 25 authors in the New England and Canadian region. The majority of the content has never been mapped and presented in visual form, and we expect it to set a new benchmark in cultural atlas design. See the University of Maine Canadian-American Center website for more information.

Signage and Wayfinding System: My interest in wayfinding systems began in the mid 1980s when I organized mountain bike races in Pennsylvania. These races were 30 to 100 miles long and spanned a large mix of public and private land. Successfully marking a complex, deep woods race for a couple hundred visitors to navigate under race pressure set a solid foundation for campus and community signage systems. My cartographic work with recreational trail maps has provided a base of knowledge for the concerns of trail signage in state and national parks. In 1994, working in the Deasy GeoGraphics Lab at the Penn State Geography Department, I worked on a project designing internal wayfinding signage and floorplan maps for the complexities of Pattee Library. In 2006 I collaborated with the architectural firm SMRT to develop a comprehensive signage system assessment for the Maine Capitol campus which is home to the Maine State Legislature in Augusta.

Currently, I'm designing a comprehensive motorist and pedestrian signage system for the UMaine campus, much of which is now integrated on the landscape. This system includes every sign on the exterior landscape from street names to building names, as well all regulatory signs. Additionally, I work with the University of Maine Parking and Transportation Committee as we contribute to issues concerning the development of the campus master plan.

Maine's Ice Age Trail Down East: this National Science Foundation (NSF) funded project is a self-guided eco-tourism map of the glacial geology features of coastal Maine. Working with the Maine Geologic Survey, the University of Maine Climate Change Institute, and a variety of regional stakeholders, the map identifies and explains the visible glacial history and evidence of climate change in Down East Maine. 10,000 copies were printed for free distribution, and a second edition is planned with an ISBN number for retail sale nationally.

Cartographic designer, Michael Hermann (first from right) with UMaine President Kennedy (fourth from left) and Governor Baldacci (seventh from left) at the unveiling of Maine's Ice Age Trail Map Down East Map & Guide and U-Haul International SuperGraphic. Michael is the Lead Cartographer involved with the creation of the Ice Age Trail project. U-Haul designed the Maine graphic in response to the Ice Age Trail Map Down East project, and placed it on 1200 trucks across the U.S. and Canada.

Published Works

For Purple Lizard maps in the retail sector go here.

Recreational map design: this is perhaps my favorite genre of map design. It is the category of map design that I first specialized in, and the one I have the most passion for. In the early 1990s I made simple hiking maps for magazines and newspapers, then moved to Colorado to work with Trails Illustrated, one of the premier recreational map publishers in the world. My first independent map under the Purple Lizard name was the Rothrock State Forest Trail Map, and I've designed many other recreational maps since then.

Maine Appalachian Trail Maps

In 2003-04 I collaborated with Geno Carpentier to design the 14th Edition of the seven-map series of the AT in Maine, from the New Hampshire border to Katahdin. The maps can be purchased through MATC (Maine Appalachian Trail Club) or at regional map and book stores. A technical article on the design and production of the project was published in Cartographic Perspectives, Number 53, Winter 2006, pp. 51–56. This map series won Honorable Mention in the 2004 ACSM/CaGIS 32nd Annual Map Design Competition, an award I also won in 1997 for my very first independently published map, the original Purple Lizard Rothrock Trail Map.

Sugarloaf/USA Trail Map

This map focuses on the cross couny and snowshoe trail system of the Sugarlof/USA Outdoor Center, which uses color-coded and/or numerical signage on the ground, as well a subset of named loops. Printed copies are distributed free at the resort, and they may have a hi-res version on-line.

I've designed street maps for local and national clients. I can assist in the preliminary discussions concerning funding resources, distribution scenarios, as well as map content, message, design and production. A few samples follow:

Ellsworth, Maine Community Health Services

This map showcases the community health services in the town of Ellsworth. It is 11 x 17, two-sided, and distributed free locally. It is typical of community maps funded by local organizations.

Centre Region Street Map, State College, Pennsylvania

This is a large street map project I maintain year-round. The map is published annually by the Chamber of Business and Industry of Centre County and features a series of regional and local maps, as well as advertised business listings.

Conservation and fund-raising maps are marketing tools more than reference maps, often tailored to increase public support for a specific goal; such as land purchase, conservation easements, or zoning changes.

Clearwater Conservancy, Pennsylvania

This fund raiser-community awareness map illustrates a land parcel the Conservancy was raising money to purchase. The map was printed as a legal-size flyer and displayed in local storefronts, as well as mailed to the community. The community was engaged, funds were raised, and Clearwater successfully negotiated this parcel as a conservation easement.

Updated 2/08